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Elliott Williams, 31, said he read about the body being found early Tuesday morning while scrolling through news feeds on his cell phone.

"I was just in awe. I was in shock," he said.

Williams said he lives four blocks away and while the death worried him at first, it didn't prevent him from coming to the Exxon to get gas later in the day.

Sylvio Cola, 57, who lives down the street from the gas station, said he saw the store's parking lot full of police and fire vehicles Tuesday morning. Cola said he didn't stop to investigate because he didn't want to be late for an appointment.

Beaumont Police Sgt. Rob Flores said the last case he could recall regarding an investigation centered around a Dumpster was in 2009.

At that time, a 37-year-old homeless man almost died after he fell asleep in a cardboard-only Dumpster behind Citi Trends on Concord Road. A city trash truck lifted the Dumpster and dumped its contents, along with the man, inside the cargo area of the truck. The man was crushed but survived.

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The identity of the man killed in Tuesday's fire was not immediately released pending notification of his family.